I’m proud to say that at two weeks in, we are 17% of the way toward the goal. Considering the size of the goal ($10,000), this is incredibly encouraging. That said, obviously, there’s still 83% more to go, and only four weeks in which to do it. That’s incredibly scary, yet, right now, I believe it can be done.

It can be done because it must be.

50in50 has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. It’s also been the most grueling. The thing it boils down to is hours in a day. Virtually none of my episodes have taken under twenty hours to make, and many of what I consider to be my better episodes (see below) have taken well over thirty.

A Few of My Favorite Episodes:

Classic:

Al Griffin Goes Outside:

The New Freedomland Dancers:

The Last Words of Ed Byron:

Salsa for Shawn:

Me and My Penis Pump (Music Video):

Even the simplest of the above episodes — The Last Words of Ed Byron — easily took twenty hours to make, when you consider character development, writing, memorization, setup, shooting, video transfer (which I had to do twice, thanks to my POS camera), footage logging, video editing, exporting, uploading, then releasing and writing a blog entry for it. It adds up quickly, and that was one of the easiest ones I’ve done.

When I was trying to do all of that every week and a full-time job, I very quickly did terrible things to my health. I am incredibly passionate about this project, and I will always make sacrifices for the things I am passionate about. In the first half of this project I sacrificed sleep more often than I care to remember. There was no other option, as I saw it, in order to get the project out each week, while working full-time to keep a roof over my head. I am very proud of many of the episodes I’ve made thus far.

That said, looking down the barrel of trying to do that for another twenty-five weeks… I’m not sure my body could take it. That’s the real reason for this Kickstarter fund raising. It’s not a question of being lazy or feeling entitled; it’s a question of wanting so badly to complete this challenging project I’m so passionate about, but not wanting to drive my health into the ground to do it.

I’m grateful to Kickstarter for giving me and others like me a chance to get funding for our labors of love in a way that we couldn’t have accessed before. That said, man, it is STRESSFUL! I’ve invested so much time in the Kickstarter project already, and the idea that all of that effort might come to nothing (which is what happens if you’re even a few dollars short of your goal by the time your deadline rolls around) is absolutely crushing. …so I’m trying not to think about that. I’m trying to focus on the positive. I’m trying to rally myself and my audience each day to spread the word a little more. Speaking of… here is how you can help:

SEND AN EMAIL! Yes, I know, it takes slightly more effort than simply clicking “Like” on Facebook and reposting it to your “wall”, but that little bit of extra effort is rewarded by a much greater rate of success. It has got to be personal. It has got to be from you, and come from your heart… your friends will know the difference. Even friends that can’t give are certainly capable of passing it on to their friends, and if you phrase it like that, chances are better that they will. To make it easier for you, you can copy/paste this list of links:

I know, it’s asking a lot of you, but if you’ve enjoyed even one or two of the episodes I’ve created in the first twenty-five weeks, I hope you will consider taking a few moments and sending it on. If this comes through, I can promise that the second twenty-five episodes will be better than the first. I promise that. I’ve got some great ideas brewing, and I can’t wait to show you.

I hope you’ll consider pledging (I’ve set up some really cool backer rewards) and I hope you’ll pass the word on. This can be done, and with your help, it will be.